Literature search planfor Politics & International Relations

Use this search plan if you are looking for sources for a Politics/IR project, essay or dissertation.

1. Write down the title or your essay/assignment/dissertation
2. Compile your keyword list
  • Think about the main themes or concepts of your research and the questions you want to answer. Consider both general and more specific aspects of the topic, e.g. Humanitarian intervention (general term) – Darfur (specific case).
  • Include any names, authors, theories, countries/places, organizations that are relevant, as well as specialist terminology or acronyms e.g. Responsibility to protect (RtoP or R2P)
  • Try and think of alternative terms or synonyms that might be used. A dictionary or thesaurus might help, but you will probably get more ideas when you start searching and you can add these to your list.
  • Consider variant spellings e.g. globalization, globalisation; defence, defense.
  • Can you identify key authors or researchers in the field? You can also search for them by name.
  • Struggling for ideas? Start searching LibrarySearch or a database and you will see keywords and subject headings which you can add to your list.
My keywords:
3. Limit your search
Is there anything you definitely want to exclude from your search? For example, do you need very recent articles? Only material which is in English?
Ways I can limit my search if I retrieve too many results:

Start your search:

4. Use reading lists
  • If you are doing an assignment for a module, make sure you explore the recommended sources in the reading list. This should be available through the ‘Reading list’ search on the Library home page and/or in your module handbook.
  • If you are writing a dissertation, it’s worth checking the ‘Reading list’ search on the Library home page to see if there are any lists covering relevant material.
Relevant reading lists:
5. Search for books
  • Books can give you a useful overview of events/theories/issues
  • Use the ‘Books & e-books’ search on the Library home page to search the Library’s collection.
  • Check this PDF guide Finding books and e-books for Politics and International Relations
Relevant books and/or authors:
6. Identify key databases
LibrarySearch on the Library home page lists books, journal articles and a variety of other sources. It's a useful starting point and easy to search, though it does not cover all our e-resources.Check this quick video guideWelcome to LibrarySearch
We recommend using a database for more in-depth research.
Databases will help you trace articles from academic journals. The ‘Journals and databases’ section of the Subject Help pages for Politics and International Relations will give you details of the key databases for these fields. You may also want to check other Subject Help pages if relevant.
Relevant databases:
7. Start your database search
  • Choose a database you’ve listed above and check your keywords from your list in section 2.
  • Remember that in most databases e.g. Academic Search Complete, you need to type your search words into the separate search boxes which are linked by AND.
    Put 1 idea per box, e.g. sovereignty AND conflict.
    Each word or phrase you add makes your search more specific, e.g. sovereignty AND conflict AND Ukraine
  • Put quotation marks around phrases to keep the words together e.g. “food security”; “global governance”; “responsibility to protect”
  • Use wildcards: globali?ation (for globalization & globalisation); govern* for govern, governing, governance, government etc.
  • Filter out the things you don’t need. Limit your search results to: Material published in English; Scholarly (peer-reviewed) journal articles; Material published after a certain date (if appropriate).
My search ideas:
8. Think about non-academic sources
Consider whether these kinds of sources might be relevant for your research:
  • Statistical sources
  • News sources
  • Government publications
  • Country reports
  • Web sources.
Take a look at the ‘Finding information’ section of the SubjectHelp pages for Politics and International Relations for help with tracing these sources.
Other useful sources:
9. Expand your search
Take a look at the sources you have found - you can use these to find related material.
Search for other sources written by the same authors (academic sources, personal website/blog).
Look through bibliographies within books and articles for related sources and then check if they’re available via Brookes Library:
  • If it’s a book, use the ‘Books & e-books’ search on the Library home page to see if we hold the book.
  • If it’s an article, check the Library website to see if we have access to the journal. On the Library home page choose ‘E-journal titles’ and search for the journal (not article) title.
If you’re doing dissertation research, take a look at the Web of Science database. In spite of its name, this database covers all subject areas and it is particularly useful for tracking citations to key articles. On Web of Science you can view an article and see a list of the author’s 'Cited References' - those sources that influenced the author. You can also see the article's influence on subsequent publications via the 'Times Cited' option. Find out more.
10. Search beyond Brookes
When doing research for an in-depth project such as your dissertation you are likely to come across references to publications which are not held at Oxford Brookes Library. There are a variety of options for obtaining material that we don't hold - see at the ‘Finding information’ section of the SubjectHelp pages for Politics and International Relations for options including access to the Bodleian Library (available only for UG dissertation and MA students) and interlibrary loans.
11. Don’t forget about referencing
Citing your sources, also called referencing, is an essential part of your academic work. Correct referencing indicates that you’ve properly acknowledged others’ work and you're providing evidence to show that the facts and arguments you present are supported by your reading.
Keep a record of all your sources as you use them, so that you can add them to your final bibliography.It will make referencing much easier in the long run!
Cite Them Right Online (CiTRO) shows you how to reference a wide range of sources (books, journal articles, web sites) using exactly the same Harvard style used at Brookes. The Library has produced a quick guide to the same style. Checkthe ‘Referencing and EndNote’ section of the SubjectHelp pages for Politics and International Relationsfor links to these two referencing guides.
12. Need help?
Contact your Academic Liaison Librarian, Joanna Cooksey if you need any help with finding sources for your assignment, essay or dissertation. Email to request a 1-to-1 appointment.
You may also find these lists of resources useful:
  • Assignment toolkit for Politics & International Relations students: Links to useful books and tips from Upgrade Study Advice service on essay writing, doing group presentations, preparing for exams and more.
  • Dissertation toolkit for Politics & International Relations students - if you're doing a dissertation take a look at this page for details of support & resources that can help you.

JC / irpollitsearch 08/18